I didn’t know you could eat fuchsia flowers and berries and wax begonia flowers and leaves! This recipe from Anna at The Veggie Tree is a delightful twist on regular Waldorf salad with the addition of edible weeds and flowers which not only add extra colour to make this dish look amazing but are super beneficial for your health too.
It’s such a blessing at a time like this with food prices continuing to increase to be able to draw on Anna’s incredible knowledge of edible plants growing wild all around us that we can access for free.
From Anna ….
This wild Waldorf inspired salad is making the most of my gardens abundance of apples, grapes, celery, lettuce, wax begonia and fuchsias of which the latter has, to my delight taken over a wild patch that the goats have cleared.
The wax begonias give the salad a delightful tang and nothing beats apples straight from the tree. I’m always adding edible weeds and flowers to my food they give us so many amazing health benefits as well as colour, texture and interest to the meal and these two quite wild flowers have invaded under utilised little nooks and cranny’s around my wild garden and this salad is the perfect use for them.
Does it look good enough to eat?
Having fruit in salads is a total no go for some but I love the different textures and flavours they bring. This chunky salad with its easy creamy mayo dressing is a perfect meal on its own or to have with minted new potatoes or kumara wedges.
Anna’s Wild Waldorf Salad
Plant-based | Gluten-free | Serves 6
Gather your ingredients and prepare them into a salad bowl:
1 lettuce, leaves (butterhead, cos or any lettuce you have to hand)
1 cup celery, sliced
1/2 cup grapes, whole or sliced in half
2 apples, sliced
1 yellow capsicum, sliced
1 cup fresh walnuts, raw
1/2 cup wax begonia leaves and flowers
1/3 cup fuchsia flowers (berries too if you have them)
1/3 cup dandelion or other edible weeds, roughly chopped
2 spring onions
a sprinkle of salt and freshly ground black pepper
Drizzle with the dressing and toss together to serve.
Dressing
Gather your ingredients and measure all of the ingredients into a 400ml jar:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp unrefined sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice + zest of lemons
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cracked black pepper
Secure the lid and shake vigorously for one minute. Keep in the fridge and bring out one hour before using. This dressing will make enough for a couple of salads.
I highly recommend Anna’s gorgeous recipe book Abundance, one of my favourite recipe books …
Abundance is the best of Anna’s seasonal recipes enhanced with everyday plant-based essentials made from scratch with whole foods, every recipe has the option to be made fully plant-based or gluten-free.
Order a copy of Anna’s new book here.
About The Author: Triona
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